Come to Me… —Matthew 11:28

Isn’t it humiliating to be told that we must come to Jesus! Think of the things about which we will not come to Jesus Christ. If you want to know how real you are, test yourself by these words— “Come to Me….” In every dimension in which you are not real, you will argue or evade the issue altogether rather than come; you will go through sorrow rather than come; and you will do anything rather than come the last lap of the race of seemingly unspeakable foolishness and say, “Just as I am, I come.” As long as you have even the least bit of spiritual disrespect, it will always reveal itself in the fact that you are expecting God to tell you to do something very big, and yet all He is telling you to do is to “Come….”

“Come to Me….” When you hear those words, you will know that something must happen in you before you can come. The Holy Spirit will show you what you have to do, and it will involve anything that will uproot whatever is preventing you from getting through to Jesus. And you will never get any further until you are willing to do that very thing. The Holy Spirit will search out that one immovable stronghold within you, but He cannot budge it unless you are willing to let Him do so.

How often have you come to God with your requests and gone away thinking, “I’ve really received what I wanted this time!” And yet you go away with nothing, while all the time God has stood with His hands outstretched not only to take you but also for you to take Him. Just think of the invincible, unconquerable, and untiring patience of Jesus, who lovingly says, “Come to Me….”

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October 8, 2015

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, thank you for this devotional and the reminder about manna and surrender. How the Israelites could not store up manna any more that we can store up surrender. They are both daily “real time” blessings and opportunities. You fed the Israelites manna that was only good for the day; it could not be stored or hoarded. They were required to rely on you daily. It seems that it is the same with our surrender; it is a daily, perhaps even minute by minute activity. And Lord, thank you for answering our prayers to and for our good, not necessarily as we imagined or asked. Thank You as well for the prayers you did not, and will not answer. You are God, we are not, and our total daily surrender acknowledges that.

And God says…”Come to Jesus, surrender all that you are and ever will be to Him: Trust in Me with all your heart…acknowledge Me in all your ways….seek first the Kingdom of God, which is Jesus. Delight yourself in the Lord, and I will give you the desires of your heart. It may be that your heart changes or that you did not even know your desires all that well, but I will meet all your needs as you trust in Me enough to surrender what it is you think you need or what you think you must have. And as you live surrendered daily, you will look back and see evidence that I was there, and met all your needs, you can also observe that you are being transformed day by day, surrender by surrender, into the very likeness of Jesus. “

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